Lemon Shark

Description

The Lemon Shark is found close the surface along the Southeastern of the US and Gulf of Mexico. The Lemon Shark (Negaprion brevirostris) is named for the pale yellow to brownish coloration. Although there are documented cases of Lemon Shark attacks on humans, they are not a particularly aggressive shark and pose little threat to divers and swimmers which make it popular for open water shark diving.

Habitat

Its natural habitat is coastal and lagoons putting it well within range of boaters. The Lemon shark mostly stays close to the surface of the water, rarely exceeding depths of more than 90m (300ft) and prefer water that is moderate or warm.

Lemon sharks are commonly found along the Southeastern coast of the United States and the Gulf of Mexico but can also be found throughout the Caribbean and Southern Brazil. They have been known to migrate to places including West Africa. You will notice them more in the summer months when they tend to migrate. Lemon sharks are one of the larger species of sharks, commonly reaching lengths between 2.5-3m (8 – 9ft.) The largest Lemon shark recorded was 3.6m­ (almost 12 ft.). This shark is comfortable swimming alone but they’re also know to form small groups based on a size and sex based hierarchy. These groups often gather around areas where food is plentiful. The smaller sharks give way to larger sharks and hostility between the sharks is rare.

Sensor

All sharks have electro receptors concentrated in their heads called the Ampullae of Lorenzini. These receptors detect electrical pulses emitted by potential prey. Lemon sharks have very poor vision and cannot see well to find their food. However, this is compensated by the extremely sensitive and accurate magnetic sensors in the nose.